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3.5. SHAPING THE LANDING GEAR 35 Figure 3.32: A single landing gear’s column Next are the two parameters controlling the tire size. Each of the tires on a given gear must be the same size. The tire radius is the length from the outer edge to the center of the tire, when viewing the aircraft from the side. Don’t confuse this with the diameter, which is the length from one side to the other when crossing through the tire’s center. The tire semi-width is half the width of the tire, when viewing the aircraft head-on. In Figure 3.33, the tire radius is shown in red, while its semi width is shown in blue. Beneath the tire size settings are the “retract axis” and “strut compress” controls (in left to right order, respectively). The first parameter sets the amount, in degrees, that the wheel rotates around its own axis when it is retracted. Note that its axis is effectively the gear’s strut. Positive numbers here correspond to a clockwise rotation when viewed from the aircraft’s underside. The strut compression parameter sets the amount, in feet, that the strut collapses on itself when the gear is retracted. In some aircraft, like the F-4 Phantom II, the gear compresses on itself like
36 3. SHAPING THE BODY OF AN AIRCRAFT Figure 3.33: The tire radius (red) and semi width (blue); thanks to Wikimedia Commons user Kozuch for the photo. this to save space. Next, beneath the retract axis and strut compression parameters is the ”cycle time.” This is the time, in seconds, that it takes for the gear to go from fully extended to fully retracted, and vice versa. Finally, at the bottom of the dialog box are two checkboxes. The first, labeled “this gear steers,” should be checked for all gears that are used to steer the aircraft. The final checkbox, labeled “gear has fairing,” should be checked if the wheels have a streamlined fairing (also known as a wheel pant or spat). These structures are used to reduce the drag the gear generates by presenting a streamlined surface for the air to interact with. For information on creating the fairings themselves, see the section later in this chapter titled “Designing Wheel Fairings and Skids.” Using the parameters above, you can create a basic gear with wheels and a simple strut. If the gear is retractable, you will still need to set a few more of its properties, as described in the following section, “Finishing Retractable Gears.” To fine-tune a gear’s steering properties, see the section “Customizing Wheels and Steering” below. Finishing Retractable Gears When creating a retractable gear, you will need to specify a few properties in addition to the size, position, and type. Many of these are located in the Landing Gear dialog’s Gear Data tab. The most important property here is the “gear is retractable” checkbox, located in the upper quarter of the dialog box, as seen in Figure 3.34. This must be checked for the gear to be retractable. Directly beneath the “gear is retractable” checkbox is the “gear can retract on ground” checkbox. With this unchecked, the aircraft will sense that the gear is bearing the weight of the craft when it is on the ground and will thus not allow you to retract the gear. This is useful for preventing damage to the aircraft. If you’re using an emergency gear pump in the instrument panel (used for extending the gear manually in the event of a power failure), you can use the “manual gear pumps” field to set the
Page 1 and 2: U L T R A -R E A L IS T IC F L IG H
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS iii The Body Data Box . .
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTS v 9 Performing a Test Flig
Page 7 and 8: 1. About This Manual (this page) 2.
Page 9 and 10: 2 1. INTRODUCTION TO PLANE MAKER 1.
Page 11 and 12: 4 2. THE PLANE MAKER INTERFACE 2.3
Page 13 and 14: 6 2. THE PLANE MAKER INTERFACE Spec
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Page 17 and 18: 10 3. SHAPING THE BODY OF AN AIRCRA
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Glossary of Terms .acf file - an ai
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98 GLOSSARY OF TERMS Figure 4: An A
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